Till we die
by DiaryofTales
Summary: James and Lily have the courage to give birth to a baby in such dark times. This is the story of the year that Harry lived with his parents.
1. Chapter 1

James paced outside the ward. Sirius was grinning widely and nodding his head with amusement. He wondered how his carefree arrogant friend had grown into a mature kid. Remus was watching Sirius reproachfully and felt worried about James; he had never seen his friend so worried. James hadn't been this nervous on his wedding day. The trains of thoughts of the friends were interrupted by a baby's cry. James rushed inside the ward almost breaking the door open.

He went inside and hugged his wife. He didn't take a look at his son. He just wanted to rid his wife of the pain. He held himself responsible for her suffering and he felt guilty about it. He had heard her cries and she was still shaking. He didn't want to break the embrace. "James…" Lily whispered. He didn't move. "James, look at our son...!" Lily said this time with more firmness. She finally pushed him away. James moved away.

He was back to being himself again. He was wearing his trademark grin, his glasses a bit lopsided as usual. He peeped a look into the cot besides Lily's bed. Their son was like little James. He had the same unruly black mass of hair. He was amazingly handsome. And then their son opened his eyes and James couldn't have been happier. He had the same green eyes as Lily. James looked into the almond shaped green eyes of his wife. They were glistening with tears of happiness and James hugged Lily again saying, "Mrs. James Potter. Thank you. Thank you for giving me a bundle of joy. Thank you." Lily replied, "He is not only yours. He ours. Our little Harry, Harry James Potter"

At the same moment Sirius and Remus entered the ward. Remus immediately went forward and gave Lily and James a congratulatory hug. "So you are planning to name him Hairy just because he has the hair of his father?"

"Oi! Shut up Moony! No word about my little HARRY!" James said seeing that Remus could hardly suppress his laughter. And Lily chided "Not my. Our" "Yeah sorry." And James gave his heartwarming smile. Remus took Harry in his arms and beamed at him. He looked much younger when he was happy and this was one such rare occasion. All the lines on his face disappeared and the few grey hair that had started appearing seemed invisible. He seemed for once the same as his age. He cooed at Harry and made faces. Remus was not of the cuddly type but this was one such occasion that brought out the mischievous little boy in him – the boy that had been forced to mature.

In all this commotion, Sirius was left out. He was still standing at the doorway not chortling anymore. He was serious. Maybe this day, the 31st of July 1980, was designed to make all of them act opposite to their nature. "What's up Padfoot?" asked James.

"What did you say his name was Lily?"

"Um.. Harry" She said hesitantly not wanting to make any mistake.

"Full name?"

"Well of course Harry James Potter. Why do you ask that?"

"I thought he was going to be named Harry Sirius Potter! How could you give him a middle name after James?!" Sirius was genuinely hurt.

Lily, James and Remus all burst out laughing. This outburst was completely sincere on Sirius' part. This was however not unexpected.

_It was a hot day. It hadn't rained for days. Sirius was going to join the Potters for dinner. Sirius had been on a particularly dangerous mission and had come back unscathed. Thought they never admitted it, Lily and Sirius were best friends. Maybe since the day he played a part in getting James and Lily together. And so to celebrate Lily had invited him over dinner. It was 7 in the evening and their front door was knocked. It was Sirius. He went inside and put a hand on Lily's bulging belly. "Put on a lot of weight, have we?" he smirked. He just loved the scowl on Lily's face whenever he mentioned that she was fat. "I am eight months pregnant Sirius but definitely not fat! Am I sweetheart?" she gave James the puppy eye look. "No dear definitely no." He pecked her gently and she beamed. Sirius ignored them and then said to the boy inside Lily's womb "How are you doing little Sirius? Huh? Oh! I see your mother hasn't been eating regularly. Don't worry champ, since the day you come out uncle Sirius will always be there for you. No one, not even ol' Voldy can touch you." The expression of Sirius' face was honest. Lily and James were touched but could hardly suppress their giggles._

Sirius was hurt. He had loved Harry ever since he found out Lily was pregnant. But the child was not named after him! It was horrendous on their part!

"See Harry, uncle Sirius is already quarrelling with me for you. I wonder if he will even allow me to take you home with me. Oh there will be a lot of melodrama baby!"


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was now a week old. Lily and Harry had returned home from St. Mungo's.

Today was the 7th of August and James first day of work for the order after his weeklong holiday. He and Sirius had been assigned a mission. They had to track Lucius Malfoy. Dumbledore strongly suspected him of being a Death Eater. This mission was not particularly dangerous because they had to gather information. They had been told not to reveal their identity or get involved in any kind of duel.

James was getting ready in their room when Lily entered. She hugged him from behind silent tears streaming down her face. He turned and gently moved his hand up and down on her back

"Shh..Lils, it is going to be alright."

"Why can't I join you? I always used to!"

"I know that but Harry needs you, doesn't he?"

"Then you stay back and let me go."  
"Look here Lilyflower" she gave a reluctant smile. That word reminded her of something.

_Lily was sitting in the library studying for her transfiguration OWL. It was half past midnight. She stifled a yawn. The more she tried to concentrate the more her mind wandered. Her thoughts went back to the incident that had taken place near the lake earlier that day. Yes, Sev had come to apologize but then she herself had chosen to part ways. She could not sleep. So she had changed and come down to the library to study, with no success. _

_Her thoughts kept on drifting to Severus and how he had changed. She wondered if she had done the right thing by distancing herself. After all, he was her first connection to the magical world. He had been her best friend. That meant a lot. Friend is not a tag you give to everyone. And Sev, he had been her best friend, hadn't he? They had begun their journey together but chosen different ways eventually. Maybe if he had been in Gryffindor and away from the aspiring Death Eaters he would be different. Had he witnessed love between his parents he would have known its true power. If the marauders did not always trouble him he would have been more sensitive towards them. But he is right in hating them perhaps. Potter was way too thick headed, an arrogant, bullying toe rag. She found him annoying too. The worst part was how he kept on asking her out. She was quite sure that Potter did not like her and that constantly asking her out was his favourite prank. Whenever a guy got close to Lily, Potter made sure to shoo him off. She understood that he did all this just so that Lily would not get a boyfriend. He wanted her to be alone and miserable and hence he did this to her. This was disgusting of him. _

_Tears started flowing down her cheeks. Severus, Potter, OWLs everything was making her mad. There was no one in the library and so she let her guard down and cried. She let her feelings flow and did nothing to cover her face. She cried and cried and then she heard the clock strike one but this did nothing to stop her tears. Then she thought he she heard someone. She wiped away her tears and tried to see who was there. She wished it was Sev but wanted that it was not him. She clearly did not know what she wanted. Then she saw the black outline of the person. She found it familiar. A tall and athletic frame with well toned arms and shoulders. It was a guy and definitely not Snape. Then she spotted the unruly mass of hair and knew that it was Potter. She got pissed off badly. _

"_Is that you Potter?"_

"_Evans? Are you alright?"_

"_No need to worry about me. Just get out of here!"_

"_I am not going anywhere." He replied calmly and moved near her. Now she could see him. The dim light of the night was illuminating him._

_James barely stopped himself from gasping. She looked beautiful. The moon lit her face. Her loose hair fell gently around her face till little down her shoulder. Her red hair shone in the moonlight. Her face was flushed and pale. Her eyes, those almond shaped emerald eyes, were watery, red and a bit puffy. Her eyelashes stuck to one another giving them distinctive curves. Her nose was as red as her hair. She looked guileless. This sight made James love her even more, that is if that was possible. He already loved her more than himself and almost equal to Quidditch! It took him all his strength to not to stare at her._

"_Just go away!" she shouted. Tears were forming once again in her eyes._

"_Evans, tell me what's up."_

"_Please go away James." She called him by his first name, her tone almost pleading him to leave her alone. She did not have the strength to shout or get angry. He was reason for her misery right now and had been always._

"_I can't" his voice was sincere._

"_Then what do you want?"_

"_I want to see you happy." She looked at him. This time it was not a glare. Her eyes were confused. James wanted to add that her smile meant the world to him but he restrained himself. She'll think I am being cheesy._

"_Do you really?"_

"_Yes." His hazel eyes were earnest._

"_Then go away please." This time she really pleaded him. A lone tear slid down her cheek. James wiped that tear from her face and took it on his forefinger. He looked at it like it was a pearl. He couldn't cause more pain to Lily. Tears started beading in his eyes. He looked at Lily with his watery eyes and drunk in her beauty. Did Lily just see the most arrogant person alive on the verge of tears?_

"_I'll go then. Anything for my Lilyflower" he whispered and with that James went away. Little did he know that it was the same name that Lily used to love to hear from her mother. That incident stirred something inside Lily. And suddenly she wanted Potter to stay and wipe the many tears that had started flowing. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. Please R &****R :)**

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"Look here Lilyflower" Lily smiled a reluctant smile. Her teary bright green eyes meet his hazel ones and once again she hid her face into his chest. "You need to be here. Harry needs you more than he does need me. Going away like this…leaving both of you alone is killing me inside. If something happens to you while I am away, I won't be able to live. But I have to go and both of us know that. Only if we battle we will be able to create a better world. A safer world for our Harry."

"Who are you Mr. Mature? Where is my Jamie?" This turned the corner of James' mouth a bit on the upside.

"Lils" he said stroking her hair "don't worry. I'll be alright and if anything happens to me Harry has his godfather always."

"Yeah but the presence of Sirius does not give you any license to risk your life." Lily said firmly. "I still remember Sirius' reaction when we asked him if he would like to be Harry's godfather!" she chuckled.

"Yeah! He looked like the happiest person alive. I think Harry got the most loving godfather."

"That's true. I just hope Harry doesn't grow up to be like him." She frowned "He is too reckless sometimes. But nevertheless with a father like you and godfather like Sirius I cannot expect Harry to become something less than a hero."

"Well with the looks he has got" James ran a hand through his hair "he will sure be the heartthrob of Hogwarts!"

"Praising ourselves, are we?"

"Oh! No. Just stating the obvious." The clock struck 10. "I need to get going."

Lily's face fell.

"I'll be back after a couple of days, love."

"That is not making it any better."

James cupped her face his hands and kissed her. He tried to put in all the emotions he felt. This was perhaps their last kiss. He couldn't bear that thought. There was something else that he was trying hard to not to think about. James thought they parted too soon. But any amount of time would have been less. Lily wanted to collapse into his arms but she showed some restrain. James had to be strong. And there was no way she was going to become his weakness. She needed to be strong for him, she needed to be strong for Harry.

"I'll go say goodbye to Harry."

James entered the room where Harry was asleep in his cot. He placed his palm on Harry's head. Harry's sight made James stronger. He was doing all this for his son. He was building a safer world for him. He had to go now but more necessarily he would have to return, for Lily and for Harry. He kissed his son and turned, preparing to leave. Lily was standing there, leaning on the frame of the door. She was smiling. James felt better at that sight.

Slowly and quietly they descended the flight of stairs hand in hand. They reached the front porch and James turned, "Bye."

"Bye." No other words came out of Lily's mouth. James sighed and went on. She called, "James!" he turned "Be safe." She could only mouth those words.

"I will." He whispered and headed to work.

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**All reviews are most welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter series. Please R&R :)**

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_James and Lily started walking towards the Hogsmeade village. Their steps were slow and silent. The cold air was stinging their cheeks. Neither James nor Lily spoke anything to break the silence. Finally James asked, "Where to?" "Um…Honeydukes?" "That would be great." And again silence fell over. Lily wanted to speak as little as possible. Having Potter walking next to her was making her heart flutter and she didn't want to slip anything that she would regret later. While James was thinking hard to make the atmosphere less tense._

"_Do you like winters?" He realized he had asked a stupid question._

"_Yeah, sort of. Do you?"_

"_Not really." He waited for her to speak something but she didn't so he thought of another topic._

"_Did you hear about…" James found himself at loss of words to complete the sentence._

"_About what?"_

"_Um…Nothing" He shrugged._

"_You can tell me."_

"_I wasn't thinking of anything. I just wanted to talk." _

"_Oh"_

"_Why aren't you speaking anything Lily?"_

"_I have no reason."_

"_You can back to your friends if you want to. I can't force my company on you."_

_James' remark caught Lily off guard._

"_NO! It is nothing like that. I want to be with you." She stopped suddenly. What had she just said? What a fool! She scolded herself. James was sure that she hadn't said it just for the sake of it. He found himself grinning._

"_Where did you throw your arrogance?" Lily started the conversation this time._

"_A place where I wouldn't find it again."_

"_That's impressive. Why did you change yourself James? I thought you were proud of how you were."_

"_I was and I still am. But I thought deflating my head would cause any harm. And look what it has got me today – a date with Lily Evans!" he was back to his mischievous self._

_Lily felt at ease while talking and changed the topic now. They chatted happily, having fun at each other's expense. They reached Honeydukes. _

"_Butterbeer?" James asked._

"_Yeah."_

"_You go find a table. I'll go get the drinks." Lily went off to find a table. This date was proving to be more fun than she had expected and she felt James was definitely a really good guy._

_Almost all the tables were full. She finally found a table in a corner of the room._

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**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but I have my exams coming up. I promise the remaining story is worth the wait...! :D**

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**Sunshine72: Thank you for the review…! They are a real morale booster for any author! I hope you like the story! :D**

**Lea (guest): Thank you for the appreciation! I hope you enjoy the story!**

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**A/N: I have a small request. I need a few lines of English translated into correct French and some in Spanish. I do not trust the accuracy of the translator softwares. If anyone is fluent in either of the languages and wishes to help, please PM me or leave a note as a review! Thank You! :D  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter series. Please R & R :)**

**A/N: This chapter is for Lea. Thank you for offering help. But since you are a guest I could not find any way to contact you. Sry :)**

_Lily sat on one of the chairs and looked at James standing away. She noticed how Madam Rosmerta blushed when he flashed his trademark Potter smile. These days she felt herself melt on the sight of it too. He was charming no doubt. He also had a masculine frame…it made him…(Lily had to admit) sexy. He had an easy air around him. He had a good sense of humour and he played amazing Quidditch. He had been made the Head boy and was the Quidditch captain. Each girl in Hogwarts (even the ones in Slytherin!) at some point of her life had a crush on him, except Lily. But now it seemed like that exception was no longer going to be so. She realized she had been staring at him and quickly looked away blushing. But still she couldn't shake the image of his dazzling smile and his strong arms out of her mind. James made his way to her, butterbeers in his hand, grinning. He sat besides her, she noted, and not opposite to her. _

"_Here you go." he said handing her the butterbeer. _

"_This place is more crowded than usual," he added, scanning the place. _

"_Maybe people came to see the famous Quidditch captain date a redhead." She flashed him a heartwarming smile._

"_Where are they?" he asked in a surprised tone. "All I can see is a Quidditch captain on a date with" he leaned closer and whispered "a beautiful ginger." Lily was a stunned for a moment by their closeness but she recovered quickly. She prodded James on his arm laughing. He liked her smile; maybe now was the time to say it meant the world to him. They were suddenly interrupted. _

"_So, you finally settled for a mudblood?" It was Mulciber. Nott, Rosier, Avery all laughed wickedly. James readied his wand. _

"_Back off Mulciber." He replied through gritted teeth. All four of them produced their wands, ready for a duel._

"_Without your pathetic excuses for friends, you are no match for us. Stop acting like YOU can even as much as touch us." Mulciber looked at them with an evil glint in his eyes. It felt like he was emitting malevolence. James clutched his wand tightly. He did not to jinx them in front of Lily. He would lose whatever little amount of friendship they had. _

_Mulciber said, "Lets go. It looks like his magic has been sucked by this mudblood." This was too much. _

"_Impedimenta" James shouted. Mulciber was blown off his feet and he landed with a deafening thud four tables away. "Apologize." He coldly said. Mulciber and his friends went out without a word. James would pay for it. Terribly. Alone. _

_Lily had been very quiet during all this commotion. James looked at her and found her deep in thought. _

"_I'm sorry."_

"_For what?"_

"_I didn't mean to fight. But Mulciber calling you…you-know-what was really too much for me to handle. I am sorry. I really have changed. I am not like this."_

"_It's okay James."_

"_Then what are you thinking?"_

"_I am not of your class."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_I thought that there was a chance that we could be together but now I realize that it's not possible." James was dumbfounded. It was difficult to be happy and sad at the same time. She went on. "I am not good enough for you." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. _

"_Vous voulez dire le monde à moi. J'ai su que nous avons été signifiés l'un pour l'autre le deuxième les yeux verrouillés d'I premier avec vous. Je t'aime du fond de mon Coeur__. __Je veux que vous soyez la mienne pour toujours. Vous veuillez intervenir pour allumer ma vie ?"_

"_Je t'aime aussi. j'aimerais être à vous pour toujours." Lily was beaming._

"_Wait. What did you say?"_

"_James! You don't know what I said!" she looked amused._

"_I also don't know what I said. Sirius told me these lines meant 'I love you' and so I mugged them up." He smiled sheepishly. Lily burst out laughing. James said, "But I really love you." He looked at her earnestly._

"_Well then I said, 'I love you too'."_

"_Did you!?"_

"_I think so." Lily could hardly suppress her grin._

_She leaned in slightly and planted a peck on his lips. But James grabbed her waist and gave her a full kiss. Lily ran her hands through his hair. She had longed to do this. James had one hand wrapped around her waist and the other one tangled in her hair. He had waited for seven long years for this to happen. He deepened the kiss. They came up for air. But soon found themselves kissing again._

"_Snogging in public!" Sirius' mischievous voice brought them back to earth. Lily blushed deeply. All the marauders along with Mary, Marlene and Alice joined them sniggering. "Do not expect us to go away." Sirius answered James' questioning look._

"_Yeah!" joined in Mary "you have had enough of you date."_

"_You have the rest of your lives to snog." Lupin said teasingly._

_All of them were passing comments and laughing and teasing and enjoying. James was filling them in about what actually happened. But Lily was not with them. Her hand entwined with her boyfriend's under the table, she could only feel him gently rubbing his thumb against her little finger. _

**Please leave reviews! **


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter series.**

**A/N: Many reviewers think that Lily fell too soon for James. Um…this is not true. She had started liking him since he deflated his head a bit. They had become good friends too. She mentions that she thought there was a chance of them being together. Seeing James fight up to the aspiring Death Eaters for her made her happy and sad. This was the moment when she realizes that she has fallen badly for James Potter and now, there is no looking back! :)**

James and Sirius were under a disillusionment charm. They were sitting outside the Malfoy Manor spying on Lucius Malfoy whom Dumbledore believed to be a Death Eater. Lucius had an approximately two-month-old son named Draco. His Narcissa was Sirius' relative. Sitting outside the manor, James and Sirius were getting bored. They had been sitting there for four hours and nothing suspicious registered. It was one in the morning and the mansion's lights were switched off. They couldn't talk to each other, as the whispering would give them away in case anyone else was there too. James shove brought a sleeping Sirius back to his senses. Sirius managed to hold back his "ouch!" just in time. He heard exactly what James wanted him to – sound of pebbles. He looked around discreetly and saw that someone was walking on them. They held their breaths.

They realized that it was a group of people and not just one person. Maybe Dumbledore had been right. Since the last two times nothing suspicious registered with any one on watch. Dumbledore suspected a leak in the Order. Someone was passing on the information to Voldemort. Hence this time, Dumbledore had told the specifics of their job only to the takers of the job. No one except James and Sirius knew that they were stationed outside Malfoy Manor. In fact, Dumbledore had told the Order that they were placed outside the house which they suspected was the Death Eaters' headquarters; Frank Longbottom and Edgar Bones had been placed there to notice if anything actually happened there.

James and Sirius readied their wands in case they needed it.

"Wait" a voice said. "Somebody's there."

"Wands out everyone." Another cold voice demanded.

Time up. James and Sirius either had to apparate or had to fight back. Now that they had discovered that they were already there fighting back seemed like the best option. They stood up. That sound was enough for the Death Eaters to start hitting spells at them. They deflected almost all of them; their being invisible helped but only a little. The gravels always gave them away. Red and green lights came out from the wands. James and Sirius were outnumbered three to one. They shouted some of the spells and some of them were non-verbal. But in their exchange they never noticed the rat scurrying away.

A spell hit Sirius square at his chest and he fell unconscious on the ground. There was no way James could take all the six Death Eaters. He bent and held Sirius' hand and apparated.

Lily was sleeping in the armchair by the fire. Harry was asleep in his cot upstairs. Lily had tried to sleep but with no success. This armchair was identical to the one in Hogwarts' Gryffindor common room. Whenever James went to the shrieking shack with the Marauders on a full moon, Lily used to sleep the same way in the common room, though she knew that James wouldn't be back before the morning.

Lily woke up with a start. She was sure she heard a 'pop', the one which accompanies apparition. She rushed to the window and saw a black outline holding someone a few yards away. Lily knew in an instant that it was James. She opened the door and went to James. Silently they lifted Sirius and took him into the house. James sent his patronus to Dumbledore to inform him about the incident. Sirius was unconscious and nothing was bringing him back to consciousness. James narrated the entire episode to Lily.

"Lils…"

"H'm…"

"I saw Snape there."

Lily went speechless for a second.

"Well that confirms our doubts."

They heard a couple of pops outside their home; it was Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. Lily ushered them in. Dumbledore bent over Sirius and checked him.

"Looks like a some different sort of a stunning spell. Madam Pomfrey can you handle him?"

"Looks like I can" Madam Pomfrey replied. She determinedly started working on Sirius. James filled in Dumbledore about all that. He listened intently and finally said, "Uh-huh. We will see to it tomorrow. It is two in the morning. We need to get going." With a final good bye, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore walked a few steps and them apparated away.

Sirius had been revived and then given a potion for dreamless sleep by Madam Pomfrey. James and Lily went to their bedroom. They checked on Harry before going to bed. James removed his shirt and changed to his night shorts. He lied down on his back and closed his eyes. Lily gently stroked his hair; James sighed.

"I could have lost Sirius today."

"U didn't. Go to sleep James."

He didn't argue further. His emotional energy had been drained. Sirius was like a brother to James. After Lily was sure that James was asleep, she cuddled closer to him and lied down too. She moved her hand lovingly over his chest. Her hand touched his scar. And a series of memories flooded her mind…

**Soccerisawesome19: Invisibility clock does not allow swift movements! :) I think a death is necessary now…!**

**A/N: The flashback coming up is interesting…! :D Please leave reviews…that may tempt me to update faster..!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter series.**

**A/N: Anyone up for a competition? PM me the best romantic idea for a date inside Hogwarts and that chapter about Jily's date inside Hogwarts would be dedicated to you! Also if you already have a one-shot written about their date please let me know. I would be more than willing to ask for the rights to publish it as a chapter in my story! Please Read and Review! :)**

**A/N #2: Thank you so much for following and favoriting my story! The reviewers… I owe you soooooooo much! Thank You ALL! **

_Mary, Marlene, Alice and Lily were sitting near the Black Lake. It was one of those rare stress-free moments that they got. Usually Alice would have been spending this time with Frank but he had finished his schooling last year and now worked as an Auror. The marauders were busy planning a prank and so the girls kept Lily company. They were talking about Marlene's crush on Remus and Mary was reminiscing some good times she had with Sirius, her ex-boyfriend. A harried looking Sirius interrupted their laughter and teasing. Sirius was soaked in blood and colour from his face had drained. _

"_Lily…James…Hospital wing" with this Lily turned pale. A heavy weight dropped in her stomach. All the girls along with Sirius rushed to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey immediately had Sirius changed and examined. It was then Lily realized that all the blood on Sirius was not his but James'. _

_Lily found James on the last bed in the hospital. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slughorn were with him. She slumped in the nearby chair as she saw the sight of James' bare chest bleeding profusely through horrible gashes. Remus, Peter, a bandaged Sirius, Marlene, Mary and Alice all gathered near Lily. Mary gave Lily a bear hug and this made Lily burst into a fit a tears. James…James…James…was all she could think. _

"_What happened exactly Mr. Black?" questioned Dumbledore._

_Sirius recounted the incident. The marauders were done planning a prank. As Peter and Remus had homework to do, Sirius and James decided to go to the girls by the Lake. They headed downwards and met Nott, Mulciber, Avery and Snape on the way. They had a verbal war and soon they started dueling. Mulciber shot a spell that hit James in the chest and James fell over and started bleeding. All the Slytherins fled the scene and Sirius leviated James and brought him to the hospital wing. "Very well. Minerva, could you please get the questioned Slytherins in my office?" his eyes no more twinkled._

_Professor Slughorn did not leave but instead talked to Lily._

"_Lily, I have got a class but I need a favour."_

"_Sure sir." Lily barely found her voice._

"_You need to make a Blood Replenishing Potion and keep giving it to James every four hours."_

_Lily paled even further. "Every four hours?"_

"_This is the only way we can keep him alive till we find the spell. This is very dark magic indeed Lily, nothing but the counter spell can heal him." _

_With a tap on her shoulder Slughorn left leaving Lily and all her friends to absorb the shock. Lily quickly started brewing the potion and she fed it to James every hour. James did not speak nor did he open his eyes completely._

_It was midnight and Lily was still wide-awake feeding him the potion. All her friends had been sent back to their dorms but Sirius. He was in the hospital due to his injuries but Poppy had given him a potion for dreamless sleep._

_Dumbledore entered the hospital wing. A wave of hope flickered inside Lily._

"_Professor? Do we have the counter spell?"_

"_Looks like the spell was self invented Miss. Evans" _

_This was enough for Lily. The Slytherins had invented a spell and tested it on James. Lily clutched the handle of the bed for support._

"_Will we find it sir?"_

"_There is every hope for it."_

_The next words came out with difficulty. "What if we don't sir?"_

"_Then Miss. Evans, I am afraid we will have to slip him Draught of Living Death."_

_And with this the world came crashing down around Lily._

**Jimmy: Hope you liked it..! :D**

**Lea: Thank you being such a loyal reviewer! :)**

**MagicMystery: Thanx for the review! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter series.**

**A/N: The next update might take upto 20 days...:( I am so sorry but I have my examinations coming up. **

**A/N #2: THE COMPETITION is still OPEN!**

**A/N #3: I haven't proof read this. Please forgive all my mistakes!**

_The remaining colour from Lily's face drained. James could be dead within 48 hours. A self invented spell…Draught of Living Death…Every four hours…Maybe there was a counter-spell…Maybe there wasn't…James dead…everything started spinning in Lily's head. She was shattered. The usually optimistic Lily could also not find any straw of hope. _

"_Are you alright Lily?" Dumbledore had worry etched all over his face. _

"_Yes professor. Thank You."_

"_Do you want to go to bed? We have enough potion for two more administrations now. Madam Pomfrey can look after him."_

"_No sir." There was a tone of finality in her voice. Dumbledore put a loving hand on her head and then went away. "I am just a flick of wand away."_

_Dumbledore was halfway through the hospital wing when it hit Lily._

"_Professor?!" Dumbledore turned._

"_What happened to those Slytherin boys?"_

"_We have them suspended for a month and in detention for four months." _

"_Sir, Can I talk to Severus now, please?"_

"_Now?"_

"_Yes sir and could you be present too?"_

"_I will be back."_

_With this Dumbledore went to fetch Snape._

_After a quarter of an hour passed, Dumbledore returned with Severus._

"_Lily." Snape could not meet Lily's eyes._

"_Severus." She nodded curtly. Her burning gaze tried to read his thoughts._

"_You invented the spell, didn't you?"_

"_What makes you think so?"_

"_I knew; you always invented them. Levicorpus, Muffiliato are yours too, right? You told me so yourself. In fact we tested some of them together. There is no point denying this."_

_Snape continued staring at the floor._

"_Sev, this is dark magic. How did you change?"_

_Snape didn't answer. His world became joyous when she called him Sev. Dumbledore quietly observed the children. _

"_Answer me Snape!" Lily was on the verge of tears._

_Snape still didn't look up. He couldn't look into her eyes. The tears in them made it all more difficult. Lily went closer to him and grabbed the front of his robes._

"_Your spell can kill him! Your spell can kill James!" tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Look at me! Tell me you will save him! Tell me you will!" Lily was shouting now. Snape grabbed Lily's hands. He looked in her eyes. There was a pang of guilt in his heart. Mudblood. He could never forgive himself for that._

"_Lily, you think I haven't been trying to improve the counter-spell?" He held out his wrist and shoved it towards her. There were scars over it. "I have been trying and trying to find the perfect one." There was hurt in his voice._

"_You had one already?"_

"_It leaves scars. It is not the prefect counter-spell."_

_Lily was ecstatic. James won't die._

"_All this while, you never came up to help…why?"_

"_I thought Potter wouldn't like scars on his chest." He was mocking now._

"_Sev, save him please." Lily begged Snape._

"_I can try Lily."_

_Dumbledore didn't speak a word. He observed them hidden in the shadows. Severus Snape was a future Death Eater indeed, but he had that power, the power of love. Hopefully he would realize the error of his ways sooner. No detentions or suspensions could ever teach him what love could. Snape went over to James and removed all the bandages. He touched his wand over James' wounds and started murmuring incantations. The lesions started to heal slowly and steadily. The spell was working! Slowly all the cuts healed themselves leaving behind only faint scars. Only one of them left a scar that Madam Pomfrey's spells could not wipe out. Finally when all was done, Dumbledore exchanged a few pleasant words with a conscious James and told him that Snape had saved him._

"_Thanks." James mumbled. Snape nodded curtly. _

"_Thanks Sev." Lily thanked him heartily. "There is still time. You can change sides if you want." Snape went with Dumbledore without any more words. Sirius was asleep and so were the others. Moreover, James didn't want to share these moments with anyone except Lily. _

_She smiled at him. Her soft features looked gorgeous in the moonlight. He smiled back. She sat besides him. He took her hand in his and kissed it. _

"_You know I love you, right?"_

"_Just like you know I love you too."_

_James did not know when the drowsiness from his potions took over. But he remembered waking up to a mob of smiling friends and a letter from his mother._

**Anu: Yay! You guessed it was Sectumsempra! :) Thank You sooooo much for the review! **

**Lea: No..U r not a stalker! :( A faithful reviewer! :) Yes..I kinda know you too! Tell me if you like the chapter..! :D**

**Soccerisawesome19: I didn't let James die! Yay! I adore him way too much to do that..but sadly that is the end :'(**


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